Earth and Space Science- Rocks and Minerals Study Guide
Chapter 2
1. What is the most abundant element (by weight) in Earth’s crust?
2. What is an atom?
3. If given the atomic number and mass number of an element, how would you calculate # of
neutrons?
4. What is an ion?
5. What is an isotope?
6. What is a compound?
7. The mass number of an atom is made up of what?
8. Which part of an atom is involved in chemical bonding?
9. What are the three types of chemical bonds?
10. What things do ionic bonds form between?
11. What is a molecule?
12. Which type of compound has high melting points?
13. What are the five characteristics of a mineral?
14. What is the term for the process of minerals that form from magma?
15. What element do all minerals in the sulfate/sulfide group contain?
16. What is the most common group of minerals in the Earth’s crust?
17. Know how to work everything on Chapter 2 practice worksheet!!!
Chapter 3
1. What is the definition for a rock?
2. What are the three main types of rock?
3. Rocks are put into these categories based on what?
4. What is the difference in magma and lava?
5. How do igneous rocks form?
6. How do sedimentary rocks form? What types of rocks can become sedimentary rocks?
7. How do metamorphic rocks form?
8. Know the rock cycle from your book and notes!
9. The energy that drives the rock cycle comes from what two sources?
10. What is an extrusive igneous rock? Intrusive igneous rock?
11. What classifies a rock as porphyritic?
12. What causes an igneous rock to have a glassy texture?
13. At what rate do course-grained rocks cool? Fine-grained rocks?
14. What is the difference in a granitic and basaltic igneous rock?
15. What type of rock is a conglomerate and what processes cause it to form?
16. What is the order of the processes involved in sedimentary rock formation?
17. What is weathering, erosion, deposition?
18. What is the difference in clastic and biochemical sedimentary rock?
19. What are the uses for fossils found in sedimentary rock?
20. What do ripple marks found in sedimentary rocks suggest?
21. In what setting does metamorphism most often occur?
22. What are the three agents of metamorphism?
23. What is the primary agent of contact metamorphism?
24. When does contact metamorphism occur?
25. What causes a metamorphic rock to become foliated?